Browsing by Author "Kapp, Alice"

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Lapse ja vangis viibiva vanema suhe ning suhtlemisvõimalused
(Tartu Ülikool, 2023) Kapp, Alice; Eelmaa, Simone, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Sotsiaalteaduste valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Ühiskonnateaduste instituut
The aim of this research paper is to provide an analytical review of the aspects of the relationship between a child and his/her incarcerated parent and to describe the role of the prison visiting system in supporting that relationship. Family environment, especially close family relationships, plays an important role in a child’s development. But how to provide a meaningful child-parent connection and a supportive relationship when the parent is incarcerated – that is the main research question. This research is qualitative and based on semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the basis of a good child-parent relationship is formed through purposeful and conscious action taken to support that relationship. This includes using all opportunities for communication provided by the prison (especially contact visits, both short- and long-term), putting the child’s needs first during these visits, ensuring the child’s positive attitude towards the incarcerated parent, making decisions concerning the child together, and sharing the child’s everyday experiences with the incarcerated parent as much as possible. The attitudes, efforts, and knowledge that the parent raising the child has about prison visits also play a significant role in supporting a good child-parent relationship. A well-managed relationship between a child and the incarcerated parent creates a situation where the quality of communication becomes more influential than the quantity. The most commonly used form of communication was by phone while sending letters via ordinary mail and having contact visits was less frequent. Often, the main reasons for having fewer in-person visits were logistical or financial difficulties. In order to make prison visits more child-friendly, several proposals for changes were made, including but not limited to providing the option for video visits, making the overall system of contact visitation more flexible, improving the information exchange for all parties (e.g., in the case of emergency restrictions), including being able to send safe e-mails, so-called o-mails (offender mails), and offering more counseling for both incarcerated individuals as well as families and caretakers, especially about parenting, relationship building, and having sufficient knowledge about the prison visiting system.